The Russian government approved a state loan of $700 million to Belarus, Russian government’s legal information portal reads.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – According to the document on the portal, the Russian foreign and finance ministries have been tasked with holding negotiations with the Belarusian side on signing the corresponding document.

Belarusian Finance Minister Vladimir Amarin said in late May that the $700 million loan from Russia for debt restructuring was under detailed consideration.

Relations between Russia and Belarus involve cooperation as part of the Union State of Russia and Belarus. The two countries established diplomatic relations on June 25, 1992. On December 8, 1999, they signed a treaty establishing the union state. The treaty was preceded by the Commonwealth of Belarus and Russia established in April 1996, and the Union of Belarus and Russia in April 1997.

The legal framework of Russian-Belarusian relations includes more than 160 interstate and intergovernmental treaties and agreements. The two countries are also linked by multilateral agreements on cooperation within the framework of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).